I wonder if these folks might be helpful to you. Ark has middle schools in England that serve children who arrive with very low skills. I think I could make an introduction if it would be helpful. Perhaps you could travel there.

3. Would it be okay to post a few of your questions online for some colleagues? I think we can get some ideas for you, maybe from someone else who has worked in an African school with similar challenges.

4. Our middle school has kids who arrive, like yours, with very low reading skills. My questions probably would boil down this way:

a. Dosage. Can you significantly increase the amount of time spent on teaching French basic reading? Our 6th grade cuts a lot of other curriculum that year, like science and history, and teach English for 3 hours a day. I'd try to attack the low reading skills problem as the main focus on Grade 6.

b. Talent. If I could get one good teacher who would stick with my school for a while, I'd want him/her to be Grade 6 French basics. Do you have someone who you think is both there for the long term, who you can invest in training? Can you seek out the BEST teacher in the area who teaches, for example, Grade 3? Often teachers of younger students know something about acquiring literacy.

c. Curriculum. Is there a packaged French literacy acquisition curriculum you can use?

d. Peer tutoring. Is there any way to deploy top students to help weaker students?

I've been involved with Match Education for about 12 years — for seven years as a board member and as CEO since 2011. Before joining Match, I started and ran the Newark Charter School Fund and taught education stuff at Harvard Business School (odd but true). Way back, I was a dot-com entrepreneur. My first job in education, at 23, was as an assistant principal in a catholic school in Harlem.

We do four things here. We run a public K12 charter school in Boston (Match Charter School). We run a graduate school of education that prepares rookie teachers for work in high-need schools (Sposato GSE). We run an alternative college and jobs program for low-income students (Match Beyond). And we share our ideas and practices with the world (Match Export).

Assorted personal facts: I moved to New Jersey from Denmark when I was nine (the Danish part explains my weird name). Upon arrival, I learned English by watching television. I have three brothers. My wife and I have three daughters. The first thing on my mind when I wake up every day is espresso - I really like it. I also watch a lot of soccer on tv. I think it's the greatest sport in the world and a force for world peace.